Back to Nature @ BIMA

If you love nature, books and art — and especially when all three come together in unexpected ways — “Back to Nature” at the Bainbridge Island Museum of Art might be your ideal summer day trip destination. This playful, imaginative exhibit highlights artists’ books that celebrate the natural world, from plant-dyed silk to papers made with mulberry, daffodil and iris fibers. But don’t expect rows of ordinary books — artists’ books are three-dimensional objects that reveal their stories through inventive combinations of art, structure and text, and they can take surprising forms.

Drawn from BIMA’s “Power of the Presses” collection, “Back to Nature”brings together creations from several dozen artists, many of whom double as naturalists or part-time scientists. You’ll find treasures like Laura Davidson’s “Flora and Fauna,” a hand-painted deck of 54 playing cards inspired by nature; Velma Bolyard’s forest-goth “Book of Bones,” crafted from flax paper, fox bones and fishing net yarn; and Bryan Kring’s “Shared Illusion,” a domed sculpture with a hand crank.

At the heart of the show are Radha Pandey’s “Flora of Mughal India and Anatomia Botanica” — gorgeous, intricate works that celebrate the floral heritage of the Indian subcontinent and the hidden structures of flowers. Whether you’re drawn to seeds, lichens or the forest floor, “Back to Nature” invites you to slow down, look closely and rediscover the magic of the natural world — one page (or petal, or bone) at a time.